10th Annual War on Shore Underway

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s 10th Annual War on the Shore wrestling tournament got underway today at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center for the second year in a row with some of the top high school wrestling programs in the mid-Atlantic and all over the country converging on the area for the two-day event.

The War on the Shore tournament, which features some of the best high school wrestling programs in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Pennsylvania and even Wisconsin this year. The field of 32 teams features 15 whose lists of accomplishments are impressive. The top Maryland teams in the field include Mount St. Joseph, the 2010 Maryland Independent State Champions, La Plata, Archbishop Curley, Archbishop Spalding and, of course, the host Decatur. Other Maryland teams in the field include Rising Sun, Broadneck, Severna Park, Easton, Glenelg, Old Mill, Patuxent, St. Mary’s Ryken, Chesapeake and Arundel.

Delaware teams in the field include 2010 Henlopen Conference champion and state runner-up Sussex Central, Sussex Tech, Middletown, Caravel Academy, St. Mark’s and Salesianum. Virginia teams in the field include 18-time state champion Great Bridge along with Northampton, Millbrook, Hanover, Riverbend, and Hickory. Teams from Washington, D.C. in the field include powerhouses DeMatha, Good Counsel and Gonzaga.

For the first seven years of the War on the Shore, the tournament was held at host Decatur, but the growth of the field of teams and the thousands of spectators who turn out for the annual event forced organizers to seek a new venue. It was held at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center for one year before logistical challenges forced the move to the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center last year.

For host Decatur, which is expected to be as strong as ever this year, the annual tournament often serves a barometer for the season. New Head Coach Todd Martinek said the format doesn’t typically favor the Seahawks, but he expects a strong finish again this year. Last year, Archbishop Spalding won the tournament, followed by Sussex Central and La Plata, while Decatur finished 15th.

Featured Stories

SALISBURY – The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore raised more than $88,000 during its second annual “Shore Gives More” campaign. The foundation’s online campaign allowed individuals to find charities from Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset counties and give them the opportunity to donate on one site. “The Community Foundation serves a diverse audience of organizations,”… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — New regulations prohibiting bow-riding on vessels could be in place as soon as next spring after a productive meeting last week between the area’s representatives in Annapolis and state boating officials. In the wake of several serious boating accidents in the resort last summer, including a fatal propeller strike that claimed the… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — Roughly nine miles off the coast of Ocean City, a quiet memorial and final resting place of a beloved long-time resort local, who passed a year ago this month, is now symbolically teeming with life as part of growing artificial reef site. Tony Meredith, known reverently and affectionately as “Uncle Tony” by… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — Calling a potential designation of the offshore Baltimore Canyon as the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary potentially “devastating” to the multi-million dollar fishing industry, resort officials this week agreed to send a letter of opposition to state and federal representatives. In October, National Aquarium officials announced they were seeking an Urban… Read more »